Prompt
Observe a laboratory activity or base your answer on past visits. How does your CT conduct a typical laboratory activity? How does he or she open the activity and organize student groups? How do students learn what they're expected to do during the period?
Reflect on your reading about inquiry and your experience with the NECAP inquiry task. How did the laboratory activity you observe prepare students for the type of activities that might show up on the NECAP in the future? What inquiry elements would you strengthen? What science practices do you want to stress when you're teaching?
Observe
The students in my class sit at lab tables instead of desks. Each table has four to five students. At each table, the students have a lab partner. This is the person they are assigned to do labs with. This is convenient because the students do not have to move to get in groups or pairs. To open the lab, my CT asks the students to about what they have been studying. Then, my CT asks them a few questions about photosynthesis, respiration and how that relates to aquatic plants. Next, she passes out the laboratory worksheet and goes over it. This is the worksheet the students will need to complete while doing the lab activity. Today’s lab activity is setting up the aquatic eco-columns. The students have to set up the columns and make detailed observations and write them down on the worksheet. The students will then go back and make a second set of observations in one week to see if anything has changed. To start a lab activity, the CT has the instructions for the lab posted on the front board on large poster size sticky notes. The CT goes over the directions out loud with the students making sure everyone understands what they are doing. My CT has previously set up stations for materials the students will need to come get. Once the directions are finished, the students are allowed to begin the experiment.
Reflect
The students loved this activity. The thing they loved most about it, was naming their fish. It was hilarious. While the activity was engaging and fun, it was not a great example of an inquiry-based lesson. The students followed a strict prescribed set of directions. Also, the worksheet they had was simple and only asked the students to draw and make observations. These are important skill that students should learn, but there were no questions connecting the lab to photosynthesis or respiration or food webs. This lab was not a good example of an inquiry type activity that may show up on the NECAP. If the students were asked to interpret or explain something, then it would have been better practice. This lab could have been strengthened, if the student had made quantitative measurements for their fish and plants. Then, if the students had to check those measurements over the course of the unit, they could make graphs and interpret data. Overall, I think there are many ways to incorporate the collection and interpretation of data in this type of experiment.
Observe a laboratory activity or base your answer on past visits. How does your CT conduct a typical laboratory activity? How does he or she open the activity and organize student groups? How do students learn what they're expected to do during the period?
Reflect on your reading about inquiry and your experience with the NECAP inquiry task. How did the laboratory activity you observe prepare students for the type of activities that might show up on the NECAP in the future? What inquiry elements would you strengthen? What science practices do you want to stress when you're teaching?
Observe
The students in my class sit at lab tables instead of desks. Each table has four to five students. At each table, the students have a lab partner. This is the person they are assigned to do labs with. This is convenient because the students do not have to move to get in groups or pairs. To open the lab, my CT asks the students to about what they have been studying. Then, my CT asks them a few questions about photosynthesis, respiration and how that relates to aquatic plants. Next, she passes out the laboratory worksheet and goes over it. This is the worksheet the students will need to complete while doing the lab activity. Today’s lab activity is setting up the aquatic eco-columns. The students have to set up the columns and make detailed observations and write them down on the worksheet. The students will then go back and make a second set of observations in one week to see if anything has changed. To start a lab activity, the CT has the instructions for the lab posted on the front board on large poster size sticky notes. The CT goes over the directions out loud with the students making sure everyone understands what they are doing. My CT has previously set up stations for materials the students will need to come get. Once the directions are finished, the students are allowed to begin the experiment.
Reflect
The students loved this activity. The thing they loved most about it, was naming their fish. It was hilarious. While the activity was engaging and fun, it was not a great example of an inquiry-based lesson. The students followed a strict prescribed set of directions. Also, the worksheet they had was simple and only asked the students to draw and make observations. These are important skill that students should learn, but there were no questions connecting the lab to photosynthesis or respiration or food webs. This lab was not a good example of an inquiry type activity that may show up on the NECAP. If the students were asked to interpret or explain something, then it would have been better practice. This lab could have been strengthened, if the student had made quantitative measurements for their fish and plants. Then, if the students had to check those measurements over the course of the unit, they could make graphs and interpret data. Overall, I think there are many ways to incorporate the collection and interpretation of data in this type of experiment.